As published in Quintessential Barrington - November/December 2008 issue
Click here for original articleGoodness at our core
BY DIRK BEVERIDGE | PHOTOS BY BOB MILKOVICH
“We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious effort; the man who never wrongs his neighbor; who is prompt to help a friend, but who has the virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life.” – Theodore Roosevelt, April 10, 1899, Chicago
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With not as much poetry, I continue to remind my children that life is not easy. While we continue to wish for storybook endings where the princess always finds her prince charming, the 007’s can easily rid the world of terrorists and danger, or our financial needs are met without worry, what I find is that these outcomes are only guaranteed on the big screen.
What we Americans have are the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I think we sometimes forget that these are not guaranteed; that they must be earned by every one of us, every day, as we negotiate the struggles of this imperfect world.
I believe that now more than ever we as a nation must come together and refocus on our goodness. It is through our goodness that problems will be solved. Solutions will be found through moral action with goodness at its core. Moral action to do not what is easy, but what is right. Moral action, as Theodore Roosevelt said, to never wrong our neighbor, and moral action that is prompt to help a friend.
On September 6, our local grass roots and non-political organization We Do Care (we-do-care.org) held our inaugural 9.11 Mile Freedom Run and fifth annual Family Freedom Festival in downtown Barrington. In our effort to support and thank the troops, we invited the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom) to come and share their story with the thousands of attendees. We learned about the goodness and moral action of the U.S. military.
Brig. Gen. Paul Van Sickle shared SouthCom’s view that the Americas are a home that we share together with 35 other countries and that the command is interested in “improving and preserving this hemisphere for the betterment of all.” Goodness at its core. With more than words, SouthCom works every day though its humanitarian missions such as Continuing Promise and Beyond the Horizon, which provide schools, community centers, clinics, water wells, and other quality of life-enhancement facilitates for the host nation. SouthCom (www.southcom.mil) is aware that solutions come through partnerships, reasoning, and moral action.
During our Family Freedom Festival, we also witnessed moral action by citizens of Barrington and the surrounding communities. Our Care Village hosted We Do Care partners such as Georgette and Roy Frank, who lost their son Philip in Iraq, and in his name started the Heart of a Marine Foundation to provide comfort and support to improve the quality of life for military personnel and families. There also was Pat and Mac McCoy, the founders of the Yellow Ribbon Support Group, with their legions of volunteers sending care packages to our deployed troops. There were about 25 other groups that spent the day interacting with troops and the community.
Jacob Needleman, in his book The American Soul, explores the ideals of democracy, freedom, and liberty, and asks two fundamental questions: What is the common greatness that we are all a part of, and what is the idea of America? He encourages us to remember the goodness of who we are and what we stand for.
My heart was full as thousands paused to reflect on the freedom we enjoy, how fragile it is, and why it is important for the world. It is those who wear and have worn the cloth of our nation — active duty, veterans, and military families — who are serving here and abroad with goodness at their core.
As we move into this holiday season, let’s be thankful for who we are as Americans and what the United States of America is. Achieving the idea of America is not easy … but it is something worthy of our consciousness, effort, and moral action.
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